Chapter 13 - PandaTL

“Hahahahaha!”

This time, it was CEO Choi Dae-Ho cracking up.

Unlike Lee Chang-Jun, he was not chuckling cluelessly at the broadcast.

His laughter was totally camera-aware, gearing up to dish out some praise.

However, that did not mean that this laughter was fake.

Because it really was a bold and fantastic stage.

“So, how are we rating this? Who’s diving in first?”

“I’ll go first.”

BLUE, still scratching his head over Han Si-On’s trick, shot his hand up.

With his musical know-how, he was basically clueless about the contestant’s mojo anyway.

He had a hunch, sure, but he could be off base.

If he pretended to know here, he could be embarrassed, or he could become unpopular, so it was best to react as the viewers would feel.

So, BLUE dove in, showering Han Si-On’s performance with compliments.

***

It was decent, no doubt.

Sure, there were a few hiccups.

Had it been a full band instead of that MR accompaniment, it could have been a killer.

Moreover, although the sound equipment itself was good, the microphone settings were too generic, which was a bit regrettable.

Lastly, there weren’t enough people in the audience for the size of the main hall of the convention center.

Since there were no sound-absorbing elements to absorb the sound, the reverberation was strangely jarring.

It wasn’t enough to cause latency, and it wasn’t the best stage.

Still, it hit the spot.

I had shown what I had, even with my vocal chops, even with that off-key charm.

I have this weird superstition, you know? If my first stage after regression is a failure, it often ruins my entire life.

Glad I dodged that jinx without any problems.

As I was musing, BLUE was pouring on the praise.

And as I listened to him quietly…….

This guy has no clue what I did.

Is he being careful in case he’s wrong?

Or did he yield the comment to Lee Chang-Jun for being a pro?

“I’ll give you a solid 10.”

I nodded after receiving a perfect score from BLUE.

“Thank you.”

Next up, vocal trainer Yoo Seon-Hwa.

It is my first time seeing her, but she was on point with her judgment of my tone and vocal skills.

She seems like a real deal, this woman.

“I’m throwing down a 10 too.”

Choi Dae-Ho grabbed the mic.

Thought he’d save his bit for last, but here comes the third verdict.

“Did you do that on purpose?”

“Pardon?”

“When I heard the verse, I was waiting for the chorus to blow up. Then it hit me, we only agreed on one verse. So…”

Choi Dae-Ho tossed it out casually.

“You got me curious.”

Exactly.

A star’s gotta stay intrigued.

Not about pathologically hiding your life like it’s a big mystery show.

It’s okay to show your laid-back side on variety shows.

Rather, it’s the case with music.

‘What should I do?’ and ‘How should I do it?’.

You should always be curious about these two things.

Instead of giving an answer, I just smiled slyly.

Not to come off cocky, but enough to express my pride and joy.

“<COMING UP NEXT(커밍업 넥스트)>. If we translate it directly, it would be something like ‘the next order’?”

“Yes.”

“I guess I got to see more… but for now, it seems like Han Si-On will be the most anticipated ‘next order’. I enjoyed it.”

Choi Dae-Ho also gave me 10 points.

“No way you’re leaving all the music talk to me?”

“After laughing like that, you’re just going to pass the torch?”

“…Oops. I guess I was laughing.”

Lee Chang-Jun grabbed the mic again, grinning.

And without missing a beat, he tossed me another 10.

“Score’s obvious. Let’s talk tunes.”

“Sure thing.”

“You made this yourself?”

“Yes.”

“When did you make it?”

I whipped it up in the practice room 2 hours ago.

Heard this tune blasting in the taxi on my way here, and man, it hit me right in the feels. I used to belt this one out as a kid, so it hit differently this time.

Then, I suddenly had an idea because of the mission to sing only one verse on the program.

But, like, if I spill the beans, am I going to jinx it?

“I worked on it for a long time because I had an idea.”

“Ah, of course. It’s not an overnight gig. Pretty bold move, though.”

Lee Chang-Jun, grinning like he hit the jackpot, jumps in with the details.

Because many people were all ears, dying to know what kind of trick I pulled off.

“I adjusted the harmony.”

“Seriously? You took it that far?”

Lee Chang-Jun gives a nod at Yoo Seon-Hwa’s remark.

“It wasn’t just a simple harmony tweak. When we usually say that we matched the harmony, it means that we stacked it with notes that sound good as vocals, right?”

Like ‘do-mi-sol’ forming a C chord.

If you add vocals for mi(E) and sol(G) to vocals that are proceeding in do(C), you will hear a harmonious and pleasant sound.

That’s harmony.

Of course, actual songs don’t proceed with single notes, so it’s much more complicated, but the basic principle is like this.

“However, Mr. Han Si-On here shook up the vibe of the whole song by layering in his voice.”

Lee Chang-Jun continued excitedly.

“Imagine jamming an electric guitar over a karaoke MR? It would be lit, right?”

“Yeah, if you nail it.”

“That’s what I did. Think of it more like using my voice as an instrument rather than just singing. I had to hit the notes spot on.”

“Uh…is that possible?”

“It’s definitely not possible with modern songs. With oldies, it’s tough without some serious skill. But it was possible because of the special feature of the song.”

Lee Chang-Jun was right.

As time passes, the chord progressions of music become more diverse, and various attempts are utilized.

Just look at the diminished chord or the augmented chord.

Progressions that used to be refined and partially used in popular music are now used as main melodies.

The reason I was able to use this method was because <Under The Streetlight> is a song that uses a very static chord.

And I have the arranging skills to play around with a source of this level.

“And it isn’t a walk in the park for just anyone. Nailing precise notes with your voice? Tough, even with the backing track.”

True, but I can hit those flat notes dead-on with my voice.

I wasn’t able to do it right off the bat, but I was able to do it through a lot of experience and effort.

Keep up the grind, and maybe I’ll be hitting those flat half-notes next.

“Your musical talent and vocal talent came together, and you arranged it with your voice. I’ll summarize it like this. It really was amazing.”

Lee Chang-Jun didn’t seem clueless, and it seemed like he had stopped his explanation at an appropriate point. But there’s more to my bag of tricks.

I Intentionally threw in some disharmony for that climactic punch in the PRE-HOOK. Tinkered with the beat a bit, and threw in some bending notes.

Even omitted some lyrics to switch up the vibe.

Like, changing ‘거기에서 (geogi-eseo)‘to ‘거기에 (geogi-e).’ ¹

But well, if I say that much, the viewers won’t understand.

I think this is probably easy enough for the viewers to understand, and it’s an explanation that I’m satisfied with.

Honestly, Lee Chang-Jun and I have a little bit of history.

Funny, to even call it history.

It’s ancient news.

But still, I was pretty satisfied with the judges’ comments this time.

“Thank you.”

***

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

As the PD Kang Seok-Woo, who was in charge of the main production of <Coming Up Next>, the junior PD shook his head.

“I don’t really know.”

“Am I the only one lost here?”

“Yes.”

“Eh… whatever.”

From the director’s perspective, the judging comments were not important.

What was important was the birth of a main character who would be the main shot.

But what was even more important than that was…

“We should’ve let him sing more!”

Damn right!

Are you crazy?

If we had heard that kind of song, wouldn’t we have had to wrap it up after the judges finished giving their comments?

Don’t you wonder how Han Si-On will sing after that?

I’m curious, and I can’t wait to hear Han Si-On rock the chorus.

It was true that…

This would be a hit no matter what.

Once the first episode of <Coming Up Next> aired, the main character would not be Lion Entertainment or Take Scene.

Not even Han Si-On.

It would be <Under the Streetlight> sung by Han Si-On.

“So, wouldn’t the other participants feel a bit left out?”

It was true

I see the other six eyeing me like they just saw a ghost.

But…

“What does that have to do with us?”

If there’s cash to be made, that’s all that matters.

M Show did not care about the circumstances of Lion Entertainment.

It was true that Take Scene agreed to share part of the profits it earned over two years.

From the broadcaster’s perspective, the best outcomes were high viewership ratings, sold-out advertising, and music revenue.

Was there a participant whose mental state had been destroyed because of Han Si-On?

Any interviews done with that destroyed mental state were all used as footage to promote Han Si-On.

“Get the release schedule sorted now, and hit up the original artist for a remake.”

“Huh? Do you want to release the pre-mission song as a digital single? That was never discussed during the planning phase.”

“You’re not going to do it? If you see a golden goose in your yard, are you going to ignore it?”

“I live in an apartment…”

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Mark my words, it’ll hit number one on the real-time search rankings.”

“Real-time searches aren’t as powerful these days.”

“Number one on YouTube’s trending videos then! Is that good enough now, Mr. Go?”

“My surname’s not 고 (Go)…”

“You’re an consulting (고문관 – Romanized: gomungwan ) PD, aren’t you?”

Head PD Kang Seok-Woo, who had gotten angry at the junior PD who was like a torturer, shouted again.

“Make the calls now! Studio time, release plan, original artist’s permission!”

As the junior PD got up to make the call, the shooting was paused for a moment…

Meanwhile, Kang Seok-Woo approached Han Si-On and conveyed his opinion that he should go to the studio to record with a full band and release it.

Han Si-On’s answer to that was simple.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think about it? Come on, why would you pass up this great opportunity?”

“It’s a bit rash to decide…”

The rich regressor knew that…

A broadcaster thirsty for viewership ratings would squeeze everything they could out of this situation.

***

DROP OUT.

A five-member boy group from Double M Entertainment, the most successful boy group in South Korea.

Even in their 8th year, they remained the idols of idols, at the top of the industry.

However, DROP OUT has one unusual aspect: they have a past where they flopped miserably once.

The reason was their music.

Double M Entertainment is called one of the three major agencies in South Korea, but when they launched DROP OUT, they had a problem with their composing line.

In the end, DROP OUT completely flopped with the debut single that the company gave them, and they did follow-up activities with the title track of their first full-length album, but that also failed miserably.

Considering the charm, skills, and performance abilities of the DROP OUT members, one can understand just how poor the songs were to make them flop like that.

What saved DROP OUT from a temporary disbandment was a self-produced song.

They decided to give it a shot, and the self-made music video they filmed in their dorm as a last resort became a huge hit.

It was quite a dramatic turn of events.

Ever since then, DROP OUT has been self-producing their title tracks.

They sometimes accept songs from the company for album tracks or singles, but the title track that determines the group’s identity is always self-made.

Despite numerous attempts by star composers to contribute to their title track across four full albums and four mini-albums, this stance has not changed.

But that firm resolve was being shaken for the first time.

Because of a song called <Selfish> made by an unknown composer named ZION.